Published by DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art.Edited by Karen Marta, Massimiliano Gioni. Text by Massimiliano Gioni.

For over a decade, sculptor Pawel Althamer has been at the forefront of the Polish contemporary art movement. Emerging from the infamous "Kowalski Studio" at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, Althamer continues to investigate the intricacies of human relationships and question the limits and deeper meaning of individual and social identity. 2000 Words: Pawel Althamer presents the wide array of the artist's work in the Dakis Joannou Collection, along with a thoughtful essay by Massimiliano Gioni communicating the artist's commitment to the transformative potential of art. Conceived by Gioni and published by the Deste Foundation, each monograph in the new 2000 Words series combines a critical, forthright essay with a survey of an artist's works in this important collection.

One of Polandís foremost contemporary artists, Pawel Althamer (born 1967) makes humankind itself the topic of his work--as physical sculpture, as political entity, and as participant in the workís production. This volume is the first to both explore the spiritual dimension of his work and to position it within the contexts of Polandís turbulent history.

Pawel Althamer works in a variety of media, ranging from small, barely noticeable interventions in everyday situations, to large-scale performances. This book presents a complete catalogue of his work, including pieces shown in Documenta X (1997) and the Venice Biennale (2003).

Published by Phaidon.

Pawel Althamer is responsible for some of the most expansive artworks of the past decade -- expansive not in the traditional, physical sense but in the social and experiential sense. Though he creates stunning sculptures of the human form, much of his work consists of human interaction, often placing the viewer's own consciousness in the starring role.